AUCKLAND, Today: A year on from Sneakers’ expansion from digital media specialists to full-service media offering, the locally owned independent agency reports that its client portfolio continues to grow.

AUCKLAND, Today: NZ-owned full-service indie agency Pitchblack Partners has taken out the latest round of the Lumo Pixel Awards, a quarterly competition designed to inspire and celebrate dynamic and interactive creativity for the digital out-of-home sector.

AUCKLAND, Monday: NZME popular lifestyle magazine Viva (runs in the NZ Herald Wednesdays) is going glossy – giving New Zealand readers a high quality, glossy lifestyle magazine filling a gap in the New Zealand magazine market.

NEW YORK, Last Night: Prompted by this year’s rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and in acknowledgment of the ad industry’s “continued lack of diversity”*, The One Club for Creativity has rebranded its annual Here Are All The Black People multicultural conference back to its original name: Where Are All The Black People?

AUCKLAND, Monday: Kiwi art director Basil Christensen – a creative legend at Ogilvy (and elsewhere) – died yesterday after suffering a heart attack.

AUCKLAND, Monday: It has been an epic few months for five rugby hopefuls who took part in 2nd Chance Charlie, a reality show devised for 2degrees by TBWA and created in partnership with Three which offered contenders their second chance at Super Rugby stardom.

AUCKLAND, Today: The Comms Council – with creative from DDB and media from Starcom – has launched an extended Brands Need Building campaign.

AUCKLAND, Today: For Rail Safety Week, DDB, KiwiRail and Tracksafe NZ are building on last year’s Near Miss Memorials with a new campaign to reinforce the impact near misses have on Kiwi train drivers.

AUCKLAND, Today: Publicis Groupe is expanding its offering in New Zealand, launching their global PR and integrated comms network MSL – and appointing Saatchi’s head of PR & social, Isobel Kerr-Newell, as MD.